Folding hanger.



W. S. C. MEGILL.

FOLDING HANGER.

AEPLICATION FILED MAR.I1, 1914.

Patented Dec. 7, 1915.

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TED sTA Es PATENT oFF WILLIAM s. o. MEGIIiL, onNATIoNAL HOME, WISCONSIN.

"FOLDING HAN-GER:

Specification of Letterslatent;

Patented Dec. 1915.

Application: filed March 11, 1914. Serial No. 823,891.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM S. v G. lVlEGILL, of NationalHorne,Wisconsin, have invented a Folding Hanger, of which the followingis aspecification. I

his invention relates to clothes-hooks or hangers for garments and otherarticles,"and the principal object which I have. in View is to provide aform of hookor hangerwhich can be folded substantially flat and carriedin the pocket without danger ofr tearing. a

My device having the above features is especially adapted to the use oftraveling men who can carry the hanger folded up; in their pocket ortraveling satchel-without its occupying anyunnecessary room orproecting; out invarious directionsso asto-interfer-e with other articlescarried therein;yand a particular advantage which my hanger has forsuchpurpose is that the screw-point which is used. for: attachment whenthe hanger is in use is substantially protected or shielded so that itcannot tear-the pocket or other articles with which it comes in contact.I I

My invention maybe madeiniavariety of forms from simple to complex, all,however, embodying the same fundamental principleand combination, all ofwhichwill hereinafter appear. Some of the possible-forms,

suflicient to illustrate said fundamental principle, and the auxiliaryprinciples involved in someof them, are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side; elevation of one which may be termed the simplestform, shown as in use; Fig. '2 is a plan view thereof, the

folded position. being indicated byv dotted lines; Fig. 3 isa sectionalelevation thereof taken on the plane 3 3; Fig.) 4:-lS't side'elevationof the second forrn of the invention provided with, a singlepivotalmember and to. a stationary. object.

two bracket-arms; Fig. 5 is aiplan-view of a third form of the inventionhaving three independent" bracketarms, the same being shown in thefolded position; Fig. 6 is a side-elevation of the same in the positionas in use, the folded position being, indicated by. dottedlines; Fig-7is a transverse sectional elevation of the same in a folded position,sectioned. on the plane 77 ;.Fig. 8 is a side-elevation of. a fourthform of the invention, involving. eight independent pivoted arms, thefolded position being shown by-dotted lines; andFig. 9 is a perspectiveview of the bottom-piece or attachmentmember shown in Fig. 8.,

In these drawings. the reference charac- I ters refer. to the samerespective parts in all the figures r Figs. .1, 2 and;3 illustrate thedevice in its essentials. This, form comprises two; elements A and 13,1each consistingof a bent piece-of: wire. The element A has one'portionalstraightandyertical to form apivotshaft orp1ntle,,and=abovethis a horizontal arm or bracket a? which forms asupport on which articles are hung. The other member, B, has its middleportion 6 also straight and-vertical, being parallel to theportion aofthe member A, and the wire on the ends of; said middle-portion isturned to form, a. pair of loopsor eyes, 6 and, 5 which are disposed;at. right angles to the portion 6 and encircle the pivot-shaft athusforming the bearings therefor; while the endeportions of;thememberB, lying beyond saideyes- 7)? andb are arranged to form meansof attachment of the member Said means may take'variousshapes, and whilethose shown in Fig.1 are convenient, they are not essentialtothe spiritof my invention in its fundamental elements. The upper end of the memberB which liesbeyond the eye 3 is extended horizontally and threaded toform-a screw-point b, which can be driven intothewall by simply turningthe hanger as whole, about the axis of, the screw; while the lower endof the member B which to formthe eye If lying in the plane thereof, saideye being, adapted to receive a screw C whereby thehanger is brevented'from rotatingor being. turned. accidentally and which forms-anadditional support therefor.

,llt will', be; seen, however, that the hanger Fig. 3, a cylindricalbodyportion extending pivot-portion or horizontal bracket-portion (1while at the would be sufiiciently supported for temporary purposeswithout the use of the screw C. 7

can be turned about the pivot-shafta so as to, occupy the position shownby the dotted lines in Fig. 2,'wherein the "screw-point 6* no longerprojects but lies adjacent to the shank of the arm (1?, and issufliciently protected thereby so that it cannot easily become engagedwith easily tearablematerial such as cloth, paper, etc.,with which thehanger may come'in contact; Furthermore, the entire hanger is comprisedsubstantially and approximately in a single plane without projectingelements, so that there can be no inconvenience in carrying it in thepocket or traveling-bag; This isthe particular and mostimportant'feature of myhanger which differentiates it from allotherhangers.

In order to secure the member A in place in the bearing eyes 6 and b inthissimple one-arm form, the lower end is simply riveted over the eye 6as shown, and to complete this fastening, aswell as to make'the bearingmore perfect and'prevent end-play, I prefer to'use a pair of hat-shapedwashers D on opposite sides of the eyes 6 and 6 each of said washershaving, as shown in through the eye and between it' and the shaft, and amarginal or flange-portion lying on the outside of the eye and betweenit and the arm a in one case and the upset end a in the other. v r

, The form of hanger shown in Fig. 4 differs from that inFig. 1 inproviding two arms instead of one, and the member A here becomes amember .A having a vertical shaft a, surmounted by the lower end of theshaft a the wire, instead of being cut off and riveted over,is extendedhorizontally to. form a second supporting arm or bracket a this alsoforms an effective thrust-bearing to prevent endwise-movement of theshaft a in its bearings. The member B becomes a member B, wherein theelements 6 ,72 b and bare the same as previously described; but in placeof the eye '6? on the lower end which'lies beyond the eye b said end isprojected'horizontally parallel to the screw-point Z2 and pointed toform a short biting-point b this enables the hanger to be supported atthe lower end without the use of toolsor screw. When the hanger is beingput up and the screwpoint has been screwed in nearly as far as it willgo, the hanger is bent slightly about the axis of the screw-point sothat the point 'b will clear the wall until the hanger has been screwedin all the way, and then being released will bend back the point b willbiteinto the wall at the proper point, and articles hung on the hangerwill main tain its bearing. This prevents the hanger from accidentallyturning in its place. In this form of hanger, the upper arm is madestraight without the offset a near the base as shown in Fig. 1*, and thewashers D are omitted. It will be seen that when the member B is turnedso that the screw-point b i lies immediately below the arm (1 saidscrew-point will be even more effectively shielded and protected than inFig. 1 by reasonof the arm (4 said arm a also acting to protect thepoint 6 The forms so far shown embody only a single pivotal member orarm. My device, however, is particularly adapted for use with aplurality of independently pivoted arms as illustrated in Figs. 5 to8'inclusive. The form shown in Figs. 5, (Sand 7 comprises the twoprincipal members A and B' corresponding with the members A and B inFig. 1; the member A being provided with the vertical shaft (1? and thehorizontal arm a and the member B with the elements 79 6 ,6 and b insaid figure, and the. shaft a being upset at a and provided withinterc'alated washers D as before.

Howeverin this form the space upon the shaft a lying between the twobearing-eyes b and b 'is'utilized as a bearing for additional" membersE, each provided with a bracket or hanger-arm e and eye 6 at itsbaseencircling the shaft a there being preferably a washer Dintercalated between each pair of .eyeson the shaft a as shown, whichserve to provide better bearings for the members E and also to separatethem slightly from each other. While only two members E are shown, itwill of course, be understood that anynumber can be used, and that theycan be extended in various directions radially from the shaft a so asnot to interfere with one another in the hanging of clothes, etc.,thereon. Now it will be seen that in this form of the hanger the screW-point t is even more effectively protected when turned into the foldedposition, Figs. 5 and 7, than in Figs. 1 and 4, because said screw-pointis now immediately inclosed' between the adjacent arms a and c and theelement 6 ofthe member B, by abutting against the sidesof the member E,helps to keep the hanger in folded position, prevent ing the point 6*from being accidentally turned out and thus becoming unprotected.

In this'form of hanger I-have also shown an additional'impro vement intheoform of means whereby it may be attached either to i nicest-o1screw-point, whereby. the device maybe attached to a "a horizontalsurface in? 1 proper position.- This construction -makes it"particularly handy for travelers stoppingat hotels where noclothes-hooks are provided and the walls plastered so that there are Ino convenient means of attachment for" the screw-point if, as thescrewy-point N can be driven into" any convenient horizontalsurface suchasa shelf, table,- window-sill, or the top ofa bed-post; Ofcourse'thelandlord'cannot' have any objection tor-the perforation of hisfurniture'andtrimmings, because ifhe had he would have suppliedhookshimself and not left that'function -to his guest; but however thatmay be, the utility of the hanger isintendedtoserve the purpose'of theguest rather than that-ofthe landlord. It will be understood thatthehanger may be manufactured with both screw-points so that either may becut 0s by'the party using the hanger, depending on which he wishes toapply or that the hanger may be made only with the vertical screw-pointfor some purposes, and"; only with the horizontal screw-point forothers.

Where particular compactness of the hanger is desired I may providethatshown in Fig. 8. In this form' the members A, B correspond to themembers A, Bof Fig. 1; the former being provided with the elements a aand a and the'latter with the elements 6 b 5 and 6*, as previouslydescribed. In this form, for compactness sake the washers D are omittedand the space on the shaft a between the eyes 6 and b is filled withclosely disposed members E (herein shown as seven in number), eachprovided with a horizontal bracket 6 and an eye a which turns on theshaft a as in Fig. 6. In this form the additional feature is embodied ofgiving the arm a an offset a at a distance from the shaft a such as toleave a space or recess a between it and the upper member E which isjust suflicient to house or admit the screw-point Z) in its foldedposition as indicated by the dotted lines, and this also brings the freeend of the arm a into proximity with the upper member E and diminishesthe vertical width of the hanger when folded. It will be seen that theends of the bracket-arms are made successively longer from the topdownward for convenience in permitting them to lie in a single plane,but this is not essential.

On the lower end of the member 13 in this form of hanger is shown analternative device for fastening it to the wall which may be used as asubstitute for the eye 6 of Fig. l. The wire is cut off at the end ofthe eye 713, and there is provided an angular piece of sheet metal Fwhich is bent transversely at a right angle in the center and its upperhorizontal flange is providedwith a hole f, which is just the size ofthe shaft (1 and through-which the lowerend of said sh'aftpasses andover which itis riveted, thusforming -a convenient substitute for thewasher DJ 'lhe'lower flange f of the member F 'isperforatedby a hole fwhich is adapted to receive'thescrew C for attachment to'thewall;Further, to preventfthe rotation of the member F with respect to themember 13, it is provided with lateral flanges 7, whichenga'gewitlithesides of the loop b flasshown;

F romthe above description it will be evident that the invention mayassume a variety of "forms, involving the interchange of alternativeelements shown in the drawings with others,- or involving the use ofequivalent fastening-devices and the like, without departing from thespirit of my invention. Also it should be understood that the verticalstem'b is not necessarily screwthreadedand in somecases I prefer tomakeit'plain, as a simple pintle adapted tofit in'a hole bored for'it,so that the hanger can "be turned in its socket, and such constructionis especially "advantageous for posts'in display windows, as the hangeras a-whole canbe'moved from one socket toanotherwithout disturbing thearticles hanging -uponit;

- Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new anddesire tosecure by -Let- 'ters Patent is: 9

1. A folding hanger comprising two ele ments, to wit: first,around-wire-member having one portion straight and vertical to form apivotal-axis or shaft and the portion above it horizontal to form abracket or support for articles to be hung thereon; and secondly, awire-member having its middle portion vertical and parallel to the firstmember, the next adjacent portions at each end of said middle portionbent to form a pair of eyes or loops at the end of said middle portionand connected thereby, said eyes or loops encircling the verticalportion ofsaid first member so as to form bearings therefor, and theterminal portion of one end of the second member extended beyond thecorresponding eye or loop and adapted for fastening to a support.

2. A folding hanger comprising two elements, to wit: first a round-wiremember having one portion straight and vertical to form a pivotal axisor shaft and the portion above it horizontal to form a bracket orsupport for articles to be hung thereon; and secondly, a wire-memberhaving its middle portion vertical and parallel to the first member, thenext adjacent portions at each end of, said middle portion bent to forma pair of eyes or loops at the ends of said middle portion and connectedthereby, said eyes or loops encircling thevertical portion of said firstmember so as to form bearings therefor, and the terminal portion of saidsecond member of the end of the upper loop being extended horizontallyand screwthreaded for driving into a support having a vertical surface;said second member being adapted when not attached to a stationaryobjectto be turned upon the vertical portion of said first member untilsaid threaded terminal portion lies fiat thereagainst. 1 v k 8. Afoldinghanger comprising two elements, to wit: first, a round-wire memberhaving one portion straightand vertical to form a pivotal axislor shaftand the portion above it horizontal to form a'bracket or support forarticles to be hung thereon;- secondly, a wire-member having its middleportion vertical and parallel to the first member,'theneXt adjacentportionsat each end of said middle'portion bent toform a pair ofeyes orloops at the ends of said middle portion and connected thereby, saideyes or loops encircling the vertical portion of said first member so asto form bearings therefor, and the terminal portion of said secondmember on the end of the upper loop being extended horizontally and Iscrewthreaded for driving into a vertical surface; and the terminalportion of said second member on the end of the lower loop being alsoprovided with means whereby it can be fastened to a support. 7

4:. A folding hanger comprising three or Copies of this. patent may beobtained for middleportion andconnected thereby, said eyes orloopsencircling the vertical portion of said first member so as to formbearings therefor, and the terminal portion on one end adapted forfasteningto a support; and thirdly, one or more additional mem- .berseach having a horizontal projecting portion forming an additionalbracket and a loop or eye at the base thereof encircling the verticalportion of the first member which forms a pivot therefor, said loop oreye passing between the vertical portion of the first member and theintermediate portion of said second member and lying between the twoloops or eyes of said second member. I

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of twowitnesses. I WILLIAM S. C. MEGILL. Witnesses:

EARL DOLE, GEORG WETMORE COLLES..

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington,D. G.

